(Credits: Far Out / Associated Press)
Fri 30 January 2026 16:00, UK
The Beatles achieved what most would have thought impossible, again and again. Decades later, their accomplishments still inspire, setting a standard that countless bands continue to chase.
It would take too long to recount all their victories from number one singles, global domination and a fan base so obsessed with it was dubbed mania. One thing that felt especially powerful and rare, though, was the band’s ability to evolve.
Not only did they change and keep changing throughout their time as a group, morphing from a pure rock and roll unit into something more psychedelic, bringing in elements of everything from folk to blues to even early punk, but perhaps the most impressive feat they pulled off was managing to make it work solo.
It was one thing for The Beatles to become the most famous band in the world, and another to navigate their breakup. No group had ever reached their level of stardom, so both their rise and their attempt to split while preserving their reputations and launching solo careers were entirely uncharted territory.
It’s always rocky ground as so many artists have split from their group and then collapsed, falling into irrelevance and never truly managing to make it work on their own. But the Fab Four pulled it off – all four of them.
Even before the paperwork managing to the so-called divorce was all signed and completed, the band were already at work on solo albums. Each retreated to their own corners – John Lennon to New York with Yoko Ono, George Harrison to Bob Dylan’s house to collaborate, Ringo Starr to his London estate awaiting the others’ calls, and Paul McCartney to a home studio, trying to figure out his next move.
Over time, all four would find their feet more and more, with some gaining huge hits, and others, namely Starr, simply keeping it rocking. As they all vowed to move on, they’d never admit it was a competition. But really, isn’t everything?
So, what is the highest-selling Beatles solo single?
During his time in The Beatles, George Harrison was continuously dubbed ‘The Quiet One’. To Bob Dylan, it was criminal, as he said, “George got stuck with being the Beatle that had to fight to get songs on records because of Lennon and [Paul] McCartney.”
Truly believing in Harrison’s talent, even when his own bandmates continuously rejected so many of his songs, Dylan was a driving force in encouraging Harrison to go solo and get to work on what would become All Things Must Pass as a way to prove himself.
And prove himself he did as Harrison’s track ‘My Sweet Lord’ was not only the first Beatles solo track, but remains the best-selling, having shifted over five million copies by 1978, and doubling that to 10m by 2010. More so than being simply the best-selling Beatles solo track, it’s one of the best-selling tracks of all time by any artist.
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